With only one returning letterwinner in sophomore post player Michael Simon, the Hilliard Davidson High School boys basketball team scored only 43.3 points per game and went 5-18 overall.

Coach Kevin Logsdon said he is disappointed the Wildcats finished with their worst record in his 11 seasons, but he emphasized he is proud of their team chemistry and effort.

"This was a tough year from a record standpoint, but I'm proud that our guys hung in there and practiced hard through the end of the season," Logsdon said. "It was hard to see our guys work so hard and not get rewarded with more wins. At the same time, it was nice to see that all of our players kept working hard and improving, and that our team played its best basketball at the end of the season. Our players never pointed fingers at each other or pouted. They always played hard, night in and out."

"This was a learning experience for all of our guys, even our seniors," Logsdon said. "We'll need to improve because we know that all of the teams in our league are going to work to get better, and we can't let ourselves fall behind them."

The Wildcats lose five seniors who started multiple games in Brorein, post player Michael Kreiser, point guard Kyle Martin, wing player Scottie Munson and point guard Adam Pierce.

Two players who started multiple games are expected to return in sophomore wing player Nick Potts and Simon, who was second-team all-league and honorable mention all-district.

Potts, who played in only 10 games because of an injured collarbone, was honorable mention all-league.

"Mike Simon could be one of the best post players in central Ohio next year, and Nick has a huge upside as well," Logsdon said. "Next year, we should have a lot more depth and experience than we had this year. And now that our kids have a better idea of what it takes to be successful, I think we have the potential to have a quick turnaround.

"The big thing is it's hard to win games when you're scoring only 43 points per game. We need to put five guys who can score out there, instead of relying on only one or two to get the job done. One of our biggest goals is to become more balanced."

Girls squad shared league title

The girls team went 12-2 in regular-season games decided by nine points or fewer en route to finishing 20-4 overall.

The Wildcats won close OCC-Central games against Central Crossing (43-37 in overtime Dec. 14), UA (36-28 on Dec. 21) and Liberty (47-45 on Jan. 4 and 43-39 on Feb. 5), and beat both Bradley (43-37 on Nov. 27) and Hilliard Darby (42-39 on Jan. 26) in close contests.

Davidson also split its league games against Coffman, winning 42-20 on Dec. 7 and losing 46-40 on Jan. 18 en route to tying the Shamrocks atop the OCC-Central at 12-2 to capture its first league title since 1998.

The eighth-seeded Wildcats opened the Division I district tournament Feb. 16 at home with a 54-27 victory over 28th-seeded Canal Winchester. Senior point guard Lauren Bates scored 20 points and sophomore guard Hannah Fecht scored 14.

"The whole season was so great for our program," coach Joy Taylor said. "It was exciting to win so many close games and that made our season so special. This is the most wins we've had in a season in school history and it was our first OCC title in 15 years. This also was the first time we beat Upper Arlington in the three seasons I've coached here."

The Wildcats lose three senior starters in Bates, Ekanem and Hurt.

Bates, who was the OCC-Central Player of the Year and third-team all-district, averaged 14.8 points and 6.8 rebounds.

According to Taylor, Bates finished her career as Davidson's all-time leader in steals, and she was second in career assists, third in scoring and fifth in rebounding. Taylor also said Ekanem is Davidson's career leader in blocks and Hurt is second.

"Our senior leadership was so important this season," Taylor said. "Ashley and Lauren were a huge chunk of our offense and leadership, and Bri was a big part of our defense with her shot blocking."